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The boss of the UK's Domino's Pizza chain who proposed the UK might have hit pizza saturation while diversifying the company into fried chicken has been ousted after disagreements with its board.

Leadership Change

The former CEO is exiting after only 24 months in leadership, and will be succeeded on an interim basis by the company's chief operating officer, Nicola Frampton, while Domino's looks for a new leader.

The outgoing executive, who worked for the company for more than two decades, had aimed to redirect Britain's biggest pizza delivery company towards fried chicken, stating recently there was not “significant expansion” left in the UK's pizza market. He said chicken was the fastest-growing food category in the world.

Board Friction

It is understood that there was friction between Rennie and the board over his focus and direction, although the company's official statement said he was stepping down “as a joint decision”.

New Product Introduction

In the autumn, Domino's unveiled its chicken-focused product line – which Rennie described as a “significant new phase” for the group – and is testing it in 210 outlets in the North West region and Northern Ireland.

While the firm is still going to roll it out across its extensive network in 2026 as planned, it regards fried chicken as complementary to its primary pizza operations.

Leadership Statement

Ian Bull, the Domino's chair, said: “Directors think that there are a series of prospects to boost expansion and value creation in our primary operations. We are focused on selecting the right chief executive to direct the disciplined execution of that expansion plan.”

Industry Difficulties

In the latest update, the pizza delivery giant, which has a substantial customer base in the UK and Ireland, said sales dipped by 1.5% in the Q3. In the summer, it cautioned that the food delivery sector had “intensified” as it blamed economic uncertainty in the lead-up to the budget and increasing labor expenses for weaker-than-expected sales and a significant fall in half-year profits.

Rival chains are also experiencing difficulties. Pizza Hut announced the shutting of multiple locations a recently, after the firm behind its British operations faced financial collapse.

Health Initiatives

Adapting to market shifts towards balanced diets, Domino's has rolled out reduced-calorie products, such as its thin-crust line of pizzas below 400 kcals as well as vegan and allergy-friendly options. A big pepperoni bake has 2,311 calories. A big margherita has 2,171, while a small has under 1,000 calories.

Interim Leadership

The interim chief has been with the company since the recent past, and had a background at the gambling company a well-known operator. It is believed that she does not want to occupy the top job long-term.

She commented: “The company has a several ongoing expansion and performance initiatives that we will be dedicated to implementing at pace.”

She added these included additional efforts on the organization's logistics network and new item creation, and its rewards program.

Domino's is also lacking a long-term CFO until March 16, when a new appointee starts from the drinks company C&C Group. For now, Richard Snow is acting financial officer.